After a latest go to to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana, famend Brazilian liberation theologian Frei Betto expressed deep concern about Cuba’s present financial scenario. The Dominican friar and former middleman between the Catholic Church and the federal government of late communist chief Fidel Castro, painted a bleak image, describing it as probably the most difficult he has ever witnessed for the reason that Cuban revolution within the Fifties.
Betto additionally works for the United Nations World Meals Programme (WFP), and his evaluation was underscored by latest information that the Communist Social gathering-led authorities in Havana was looking for meals help from WFP. Working in Cuba since 1963, WFP has solely been requested by Havana to ship meals within the wake of pure catastrophes like hurricanes.
UN World Meals Programme requested to intervene
Havana’s unprecedented attraction for meals reduction was already made on the finish of 2023, the WFP mentioned, and it has already begun delivering skimmed milk powder to Cuba. Spanish information company EFE reported final week that 144 tons of it have been dispatched — roughly 7% of the nation’s general month-to-month requirement of two,000 tons.
The Cuban authorities usually supplies a month-to-month quota of closely sponsored milk to kids and people with particular diets as a result of continual diseases. Furthermore, a state-run system known as Libreta supplies different staples like beans, cooking oil, rice and rooster meat to these in want, costing the federal government about $1.6 billion (€1.47 billion) yearly.
Nonetheless, latest disruptions within the availability of state-supplied milk have led to delays and problems in distribution. Some provinces have lowered supply portions, whereas others have substituted milk with syrup or vitamin-enriched on the spot soda.
Minister for Inner Commerce Betsy Diaz Rodriguez informed reporters in Havana just lately that “challenges in buying milk powder overseas, in addition to home provide and processing points throughout the nationwide dairy trade,” have been causes for the scarcity.
Cuba’s international foreign money squeeze
Cuban economist Omar Everleny Perez, nevertheless, blames Cuba’s “present financial woes together with a extreme scarcity of international foreign money” for the disaster. Perez informed DW that Cuba could possibly be self-sufficient in important meals gadgets that could possibly be produced domestically. Nonetheless, “shortcomings within the Cuban agricultural mannequin” have made meals imports needed.
The shortage of international foreign money, he mentioned, was exacerbated by a decline in tourism income, elevated US sanctions, and elevated meals and vitality costs because of the battle in Ukraine.
The Cuban minister for the meals trade, Alberto Lopez Diaz, assured Cubans final week that, milk provide could be secured by March, because of recent deliveries from Brazil.
Shortages past milk
The milk powder scarcity shouldn’t be the one concern for Cubans. The provision of wheat flour for bread can be problematic, prompting the federal government to announce cuts within the provide of sponsored bread till the top of March. Some provinces have reportedly restricted bread distribution already.
Economist Perez famous that energy outages have elevated just lately as a result of gas shortages. However he additionally mentioned that Cubans are used to shortages of all types and that the scenario was higher than years earlier than as a result of financial reforms that allowed personal companies on a small scale. Perez argued that the primary drawback for the Cuban financial system is excessive inflation, which might improve the federal government’s monetary wants whereas making state subsidies costlier.
“Nowhere on the earth are bakeries owned by the state,” he informed DW. He prompt the federal government ought to give small and medium-sized personal enterprises extra freedom to deal with shortages. “I feel the state ought to quite concentrate on the strategically essential sectors of the financial system,” he added.
Regardless of the difficulties, Perez is cautiously optimistic about Cuba’s future, citing potential financial restoration by means of tourism. He says if political leaders take the correct steps, the personal sector can play a vital function and scale back the stress on the state.
He added that the attraction to the WFP may be seen as “a realistic transfer” by the Cuban authorities to “relieve the state price range and create room for deliberate reforms.”
This text was initially written in German.
